Immediate loading of 4 implants. A case report

Despite the obvious benefits of two-stage implants, patients do experience discomfort as they have to continue wearing non-fixed total dentures whilst postoperative healing takes place. These patients would be more comfortable if a functional and esthetically pleasing solution could be arrived at in a shorter time. In an effort to achieve this, the scientific community has researched and fitted ''immediate load'' implants. The current literature states that this procedure, when fitting 4 or more interforaminal implants, is both predictable and reliable. The procedure increases neither the number of implant failures nor the amount of bone lost. In the case reported, 4 implants were inserted and a bar constructed. The practicality of this procedure is seen in reduced time and costs. An initial total denture was used at the start, first as a surgery guide, then as an individual tray for impression, and eventually as final total denture. Fixing the initial total denture to the implant, considerably reduced the time taken in the whole implant procedure and provided the patient with a more comfortable, pleasing solution. The use of the bar prevented the denture from moving, guaranteed full support from the implants, and reduced or prevented the bone loss seen in patients where non-implant supported total dentures have been used. This procedure had the additional benefit of versatility - as it could have been used as an intermediate stage towards providing a more complex prosthesis, such as a Toronto prosthesis.